Fabrizio Stasolla

Università Telematica "Giustino Fortunato" of Benevento

Background: University students may encounter challenges throughout their academic careers, with an increased risk of academic drop-out.Among new technologies, those based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as Deep Learning (DL) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) strategies, have emerged as valuable resources to assess and enhance academic performa...

This paper presents a scoping review that explores the potential of Serious Games combined with Virtual Reality (VR) to enhance social interactions in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The existing literature is mapped to identify how these technologies can facilitate communication, collaboration, and the development of social skills...

Il Precision Teaching (PT) ha origine negli anni ’60 negli Stati Uniti dai lavori di Ogden Lindsley, ed è influenzato dalle metodologie di misurazione comportamentale di B.F. Skinner. Esso è un sistema di misurazione che utilizza la frequenza come unità di misura con l’obiettivo di promuovere la fluenza comportamentale. Questa rassegna esplorativa...

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL) techniques into medical and assistive technology (AT) is revolutionizing the healthcare landscape, offering unprecedented precision and efficiency in diagnosing, monitoring, and treating various conditions. As the demand for personalized and accessible healthcare grows, these technolog...

People with disorders of consciousness, either as a consequence of an acquired brain injury or a traumatic brain injury, may pose serious challenges to medical and/or rehabilitative centers with an increased burden on caregivers and families. The objectives of this study were as follows: to explore the use of extended reality as a critical means of...

The management and treatment of challenging behaviors in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a priority for caregivers, educators, and healthcare professionals. This selective review examined how different technologies were used to help manage challenging behaviors in children with autism, describing each technology's strength...

Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that predominantly affects the elderly population. Traditional assessment methods, including neuropsychological tests like the MMSE, have been the cornerstone of AD diagnosis for decades. These methods are grounded in a wealth of resea...

School bullying represents a widespread expression of violence in the peer context. Guided by the social-ecological model, this study investigated the longitudinal and transactional pathways linking domestic and neighborhood/community violence exposure (through direct victimization and witnessing), self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs), and scho...

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder primarily affecting females, characterized by a spectrum of debilitating symptoms that impact neurological, cognitive, and motor functions. Eye-tracking technology (ETT) has emerged as a prominent tool in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, particularly for neurological...

School bullying represents a widespread expression of violence in the peer context. Guided by the social-ecological model, this study investigated the longitudinal and transactional pathways linking domestic and neighborhood/community violence exposure (through direct victimization and witnessing), self-serving cognitive distortions (CDS), and scho...

Rehabilitation is an important and necessary part of local and global healthcare services along with treatment and palliative care, prevention of disease, and promotion of good health. The rehabilitation process helps older and young adults even children to become as independent as possible in activities of daily life and enables participation in u...

Les enfants trisomiques montrent un profil socio-cognitif caractérisé par une hétérogénéité entre habilités cognitives et linguistiques, qui sont inferieures, surtout pour la production de paroles, par rapport aux habilités cognitives (Papagno & Vallar, 2021). Par contre, la communication gestuelle, et surtout l’attention conjointe, semblent être r...

Citation: Stasolla, F.; Lopez, A.; Akbar, K.; Vinci, L.A.; Cusano, M. Matching Assistive Technology, Telerehabilitation, and Virtual Reality to Promote Cognitive Rehabilitation and Communication Skills in Neurological Populations: A Perspective Proposal. Technologies 2023, 11, 43. https://doi. Abstract: Neurological populations (NP) commonly experi...

Purpose of Review Neurodevelopmental disorders lead, many times, to serious communication problems that also affect their quality of life. Therefore, it is essential to undertake rehabilitation projects aimed at promoting communication through the use of alternative and augmentative communication strategies and tools. The main objective of this sys...

Neurodevelopmental disorders represent a cluster of conditions first diagnosed during childhood or adolescence (i.e., including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders, motor deficits, and communication deficits). The main characteristic of neurodevelopmental disorders is the presence of a deficit or a delay in the acquisition of skills...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that selectively affects motor neurons. To date, there is no cure for ALS. It has been widely demonstrated how the use of AT can increase the independence and safety of patients improving their quality of life. Interventions based on the use of AT consist of aids to supp...

The article provides a new hypothesis on the integration of assistive technology with virtual reality for helping the assessment and the recovery in post-coma patients with disorders of consciousness.

Cerebral Palsy (CP) includes a group of permanent but non progressive motor disturbances caused by defects in an immature brain. Next to postural abnormalities, movement disorders are commonly acknowledged. Speech deficits, communication delays, challenging behaviors, and locomotion and/or gait inabilities are usually embedded. Furthermore, childre...

The chapter provides the reader with an updated narrative review on the technology-aided solutions available to promote healthcare of neurodegenerative diseases. Strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed studies were critically discussed and practical insights for both future research and practice were emphasized.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a transition stage between normal aging and dementia and can be useful to monitor the cognitive status of people at risk of dementias. Our aims were to investigate the prevalence of amnestic and non-amnestic MCI in a South Italian elderly population, and to identify socio-demographic, clinical and lifestyle factor...

The Book includes the newest contributions on the diagnosis and treatment of Fragile X syndrome and related disorders. Both theoretical and empirical chapters were embedded. Practical examples useful for everyday settings were provided.

The chapter provides the reader with a narrative overview on the newest empirical evidence available on the use of new technologies to help individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Three main categories of studies were identified, namely (1) virtual reality, (2) mobile technologies, and (3) wearable technologies. Results were satisfactory alt...

Individuals with neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) may pose serious challenges to daily life medical contexts. In fact, they commonly fail while dealing with environmental requests. To overcome this issue, one may rely on assistive technology-based programs. The COVID-19 pandemic suddenly exacerbated their clinical conditions. Telerehabilitation may...

Persons with neurodegenerative diseases may have behavioral, cognitive, emotional, motor, and social impairments due to their clinical conditions. The objective of this article is to provide the reader with the newest empirical contributions available and a comprehensive critical overview on the use of assistive technology-based interventions and v...

This article provides the reader with a literature overview of the newest empirical evidences available on the use of assistive technology-based programs for teaching and improving adaptive responding of children with severe to profound developmental disabilities. Four main categories of studies were selected, regarding (a) the technology for promo...

This chapter provides the reader with the newest empirical contributions available on the use of assistive technology-based interventions aimed at enhancing life skills of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and developmental or intellectual disabilities. A selective overview along the last decade was carried out. Eighteen studi...

Background Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a rare genetic disorder resulting from the mutation of the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome. The syndrome is characterized by learning difficulties, social isolation, stereotyped behaviors, communication impairments, intellectual deficits, and is frequently associated with anxiety, avoidance, impulsivity, hyperac...

Background Post-coma patients emerging from a minimally conscious state may have extensive motor disabilities and pose serious challenges to medical centers and home settings. Objectives To promote academic performance and communication skills of post-coma individuals with traumatic brain injuries emerging from a minimally conscious state through...

We further extended the use of a microswitch-cluster technology to promote object manipulation and to reduce tongue protrusion in seven children with Angelman syndrome. Study I included seven participants with severe to profound developmental disabilities. An ABB 1 AB 1 experimental sequence was implemented. During the baselines (i.e., A phases) th...

Neurological disorders broadly include any disease of the Central Nervous System. The brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, peripherical nerves, nerve roots, autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junctions, and muscles are usually embedded. Individuals with neurological impairments due to either a congenital or an acquired brain injury may experien...

Rett syndrome a rare genetic disease caused by mutations of the MECP2 gene and includes severe to profound developmental impairments. Communicative, intellectual, and motor disabilities are usually embedded. Children with Rett syndrome are individuals with multiple difficulties. Caregivers, families and professionals are daily faced to serious chal...

The newest contributions on virtual reality and wearable technologies to support adaptive responding in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders were reviewed. New perspectives for both research and clinical practice were emphasized

Editorial on a special issue

The chapter provides the reader with an updated literature review on the use of assistive technology-based solutions to promote adaptive responding and reduce challenging behaviors in individuals with rare genetic diseases and severe to profound developmental disabilities.

We conducted a systematic review of telerehabilitation (TR) interventions on children and young adults with multiple disabilities (MDs). This review aimed to (a) examine the effectiveness of telerehabilitation (TR) on adaptive skills that have been targeted for intervention, (b) describe the type of devices used in the intervention procedures, (c)...

The COVID-19 poses an ongoing threat to lives around the world and challenges the existing public health and medical service delivery. The lockdown or quarantine measures adopted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has caused the interruption in ongoing care and access to medical care including to patients with existing neurological conditions. Besid...

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health problem that is radically transforming public and private healthcare organizations around the world, negatively affecting the rehabilitative treatments of non-COVID pathologies as well. In this situation, it becomes crucial to be able to guarantee the continuity of care also to all those patients with neurod...

The chapter provides the reader with a selective overview of the newest contributions available in the literature on technological-based interventions for promoting adaptive behaviors of children with ADHD and developmental disorders

The chapter provides the reader with a narrative review of the technological-aided solutions for helping children with neurodevelopmental disorders in daily life

The chapter provides the reader with a concise overview on the virtual setups available for assessing and recovering neurodegenerative diseases

This chapter emphasizes a selective overview of the newest empirical contributions available in the literature within the last decade (i.e., 2008-2019) regarding the use of assistive technology for the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in daily settings. According to the including and excluding criteria, 40 studies were ret...

This chapter provides the reader with a concise overview of the newest empirical evidences available on the use of assistive technology and cognitive behavioral interventions to promote adaptive skills and decrease challenging behaviors of children and adolescents with Rett syndrome and severe to profound developmental disabilities. Four main categ...

The reported below link includes a call for chapters for a new editorial project (forthcoming IGI Global volume I'm editing) on assistive technoloogy-based interventions for individuals with neurological disorders. Everyone who may be interested can email me (f.stasolla@unifortunato,eu) for further details. Tank you very much in advance and best r...

This chapter provides the reader with the newest technological options available to promote communication skills of children with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities. A literature overview was carried out. Implications of the reviewed studies were critically discussed.

Driving behaviors and fitness to drive have been assessed over time using different tools: standardized neuropsychological, on-road and driving simulation testing. Nowadays, the great variability of topics related to driving simulation has elicited a high number of reviews. The present work aims to perform a scientometric analysis on driving simula...

Cerebral Palsy (CP) represents one of the most frequent neurological disorder in the infancy and in the childhood. It includes brain injuries or developmental defects. According to the World Health Organization, it is a main problem of public health. It may include communication, intellectual, and motor disabilities with negative consequences on ch...

Background: Persons with neurodegenerative diseases may have behavioral, cognitive, emotional, motor, and social impairments due to their clinical conditions. Accordingly, they can experience isolation and passivity, which may seriously hamper their social image, desirability and status with negative outcomes on their quality of life. Objective: T...

This is a brief overview on aided-alternative and augmentative communication strategies available for individuals with severe to profound developmental disabilities.

This chapter provides the reader with the newest empirical contributions available on the use of assistive technology-based interventions aimed at enhancing life skills of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and developmental or intellectual disabilities. A selective overview along the last decade was carried out. Eighteen studi...

Background: Topographical disorientation (TD) refers to a particular condition which determines the loss of spatial orientation, both in new and familiar environments. TD and spatial memory impairments occur relatively early as effect of cognitive decline in aging, even in prodromal stages of dementia, namely mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Aims...

This chapter provides the reader with the newest empirical contributions available on the use of assistive technology-based interventions aimed at enhancing life skills of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and developmental or intellectual disabilities. A selective overview along the last decade was carried out. Eighteen studi...

Background Children with CP may have balance problems and gait difficulties. Objective This case report illustrates the use of microswitches, walker device, and positive stimulation to promote basic ambulation responses in a child with cerebral palsy and severe to profound intellectual disabilities. Method An ABAB reversal design was implemented. D...

Background: The use of assistive technology, specifically microswitches, with children with RTT has been shown to effectively moderate the impact of their disability on their quality of life⁻ by facilitating access to meaningful leisure and other activities. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a microswitch intervention on...

BACKGROUND: Children with Cornelia de Lange syndrome and severe developmental delays may present gait difficulties, and/or be unable of independent locomotion. OBJECTIVES: To introduce six children with Cornelia de Lange syndrome to a microswitch-based program for supporting locomotion fluency. To examine the awareness of microswitch responding. To...

We further extended the use of microswitch-cluster technology for prmoting occupation and reducing hand biting of six adolescents with fragile X syndrome. We assessed the effects of the rehabilitative program on the indices of positive participation as outcome measure of the participants' quality of life. We conducted a one-year follow-up. Sixty-si...

The paper includes a short review on the cognitive-behavioral interventions and assistive technology-based programs to promote adaptive skills of children with cerebral palsy and evelopmental disabilities

This article provides the reader with a literature overview of the newest empirical evidences available on the use of assistive technology-based programs for teaching and improving adaptive responding of children with severe to profound developmental disabilities. Four main categories of studies were selected, regarding (a) the technology for promo...

The article provides the reader with a Mini review on newest empirical evidences available concerning the behavioral interventions for promoting and supporting adaptive responding of children with Cornelia de Lange syndrome

Background: Person with Alzheimer Disease may present cognitive, social, communication, physical, and orientation impairments. Furthermore, individuals with Alzheimer Disease may exhibit challenging behavior, isolation, and passivity. Objectives: To emphasize the role of Assistive Technology-based interventions and Cognitive-Behavioral Programs to...

Objectives: To extend the use of assistive technology for promoting adaptive skills of children with cerebral palsy. To assess its effects on positive participation of ten participants involved. To carry out a social validation recruiting parents, physiotherapists and support teachers as external raters. Method: A multiple probe design was implemen...

We further extended the use of a microswitch-based program for assessing contingency awareness and promoting locomotion fluency of five adolescents with Rett syndrome. A second goal was to evaluate the effectiveness and the suitability of the rehabilitative intervention on participants’ indices of happiness as outcome measure of their quality of li...

This is a further preliminary assessment of choice-making capacities by children with Rett syndrome through an assistive technology-based program

Objectives: The study is focused on the assessment of reorientation skills in a sample of community-dwelling elderly people, manipulating landmarks and geometric (layout) information. Method: A neuropsychological assessment was administered to 286 elderly participants, divided into six groups (healthy controls, HC; four subgroups of participants...

We compared two behavioral strategies (i.e., self-monitoring [SM] and differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior [DRA]) to promote on-task behavior by three children with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities during classroom activities. The first objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and the suitability of eac...

This chapter provides a literature overview (i.e., range period 2000-2015) concerning the use assistive technology (AT) for children with severe to profound developmental disabilities. Specifically, the chapter presents a general picture concerning the use of electronic tools such as microswitches enabling individuals with multiple disabilities to...